Maybe I've Grown Up Much too Soon
by lovablegeek
Summary: [PreRENT] There's only so much Benny can do when April doesn't want to be helped. [One shot]


**A/N:** Written for speedrent challenge #58. One of my April Coffin fics, with April as Benny's sister… because it's fun, damnit!

* * *

"Uh… Benny?" Mark said softly as his roommate stepped into the loft. "I think you might want to… go talk to April."

Being greeted with that upon getting home was not generally an encouraging sign. Especially since whenever Mark suggested that Benny talk to his little sister, there was something wrong with her. "Why?" he asked automatically. He didn't quite hear Mark's response as he went straight to Roger and April's room, pushed open the door and found the room empty. He turned to face Mark. "Where is she?"

"On the roof." Mark kept his voice low and quiet, as if concerned Benny might get upset with him for saying the wrong thing. Benny sighed. He had a feeling that there was someone to be upset with here, but somehow he doubted it was Mark.

"On the roof," Benny repeated slowly. "God, it's freezing outside. There's _ice_ on the street, and she's sitting up on the roof?"

"She wanted to be alone."

Benny shook his head and headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time, and then out onto the roof… He noticed April almost at once, sitting on the ledge on the corner, an overlarge coat she'd doubtless taken from Benny's closet wrapped around her shoulders, shivering visibly enough that Benny noticed from across the rooftop. "April?"

She flinched and looked up at him, then quickly glanced down, hugging her arms tighter around himself. "Benny. I… umm… who told you I was up here?"

"Mark." He walked over to her, carefully sitting down beside her, and watched her out of the corner of his eye. Dwarfed in Benny's coat, she looked frighteningly fragile, to his eyes at least. "What's going on? It's freezing up here."

She shrugged and shifted away from him a little, still refusing to meet his eyes. "Nothing. Just needed to be alone for a little while." He didn't say anything for a moment, just looked at her, and even if she didn't look up at him she knew the accusation in his eyes. "I'm _fine_, Benny. You can go back inside, really…"

"April, come inside before you catch something," he said gently. "You're going to get sick."

"Benny," she started to protest, but gave it up as a wave of nausea hit her and she bent forward, coughing and retching. Nothing came up—she hadn't been eating much lately in any case. She felt Benny's hand on her back, but didn't pay much attention to it, didn't really notice anything Benny was doing until she felt his hand on the sleeve of the coat, starting to shove it up over her thin arm. She drew a shaky breath. "Benny, don't—"

Too late. He'd already noticed the track marks, as many new as there were old, and she flinched away from meeting his eyes. "You told me you quit a month ago," he said softly, without even the slightest hint of accusation in his tone, but she couldn't help but wince anyway.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Benny grimaced and stood up, gently pulling April to her feet along with him. "Come on. We're going inside." She didn't protest this time, simply allowed him to walk her down the stairs into the loft, half-clinging to him, and he could feel her trembling against his side. Reaching the loft, he carefully sat her down on the couch, grabbed a blanket from his room and draped it over her, and then turned to Mark, who watched the whole process in silence with that observant, uncertain look Benny knew meant that he wanted to get his camera but wasn't sure if it was an appropriate moment to do so.

"Where's Roger?" Benny demanded.

Mark hesitated before he answered. "On the fire escape."

He gestured to the window, and after a moment reached for his camera, apparently deciding that filming this couldn't hurt anything. Benny didn't bother trying to make him put it away, just shoved open the window and stepped out onto the fire escape. Roger sat there with a notebook, apparently immune to the cold as he sat there scribbling down lyrics to a song or God knew what, and glanced up as Benny stepped outside. Benny didn't bother with any explaining himself, simply grabbed Roger roughly by the arm, pulled him back inside, and slammed him back against the nearest wall as hard as he could. Mark's eyes widened and he took a step backwards as if to put more distance between himself and them, though never lowering his camera; April didn't seem to notice, with her forehead resting against one knee that she'd pulled up to her chest and her eyes closed.

Roger stared at Benny for a moment, more stunned than anything by the sudden violence, before trying to shove him away. "What the fuck was that for?"

Benny refused to let Roger push him away, shoving him back against the wall again, his expression hard. "That was for fucking up my baby sister, Roger. Getting her drugs, turning her into someone I barely recognize… You want to screw up your own life, fine, but you keep dragging her into it and I swear to God I'll kill you."

Roger sneered into Benny's face, obviously not intimidated. "I didn't do a thing, Benny. I'm not forcing her to take the drugs, am I? She's just as much to blame as I am, and I know you like to think that your baby sister's completely innocent, but the truth is—"

"You started this!" Benny snapped at him. "She wasn't always like this, not before you. Before you, she never used drugs, and she sure as hell didn't need them like she does now. You did this to her."

Again, that self-confident jackass sneer Roger was so good at. "You want to believe that, fine. Whatever makes you feel better."

With that look on his face, Roger was practically asking to be punched. Benny obliged him. Mark sighed and put his camera down quickly before hurrying forward to separate them—or try to—before either got seriously injured. Not that he was much help. Had Collins been home, he would have just stepped between the two of them and held them by their shirt collars until they calmed down, but Mark was both too small to manage that, and not quite sure he wanted to get between the two of them and place himself in potential danger.

"Benny," April said softly from the couch. "Roger. Stop, please…" Quiet as her voice was, it was surprising it managed to stop either of them, but Benny quickly shoved himself away from Roger, and though Roger looked as if he intended to go after Benny, Mark quickly interposed himself between the two, shooting Roger a warning look. "Please, don't… Don't fight."

She closed her eyes and dropped her head back onto her knee, her shoulders still shaking. Benny glanced over at Roger and shot him a glare before walking to the couch and sitting beside her—he stubbornly ignored Roger's sneer in his general direction as he stepped back onto the fire escape.

"Can I do anything for you?" Benny asked gently.

She shook her head vehemently, eyes still closed tight. "No," she mumbled softly. "I'm fine, Benny, really… Promise I'll be fine."

She said that every time he asked—he didn't know why he'd been expecting a different answer this time. Benny sighed and pressed his hands to his temples, fighting back annoyance. There was only so much he could do for his little sister when she refused to be helped.


End file.
